In addition to lawyers, should poor criminal defendants have a right to taxpayer-funded experts?

A case going to Michigan's Supreme Court asks whether indigent defendants have the right to their own court-appointed experts.

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Stateside's conversation with Thomas Boyd, a 55th District Court judge and a member of Michigan Indigent Defense Commission.

Last week, Michigan Radio’s Rick Pluta reported on the state Supreme Court agreeing to hear arguments about whether indigent defendants have the right to their own court-appointed experts. In this case, the defendant wanted a DNA expert.

These kinds of questions get to the heart of the mission of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. Its purpose is to work to ensure the state’s public defense system is fair, cost-effective and constitutional.

Stateside spoke to Thomas Boyd about the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. Boyd is a 55th District Court judge and a member of the Commission.

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DETROIT (AP) - The Michigan Supreme Court is looking at the case of a Detroit-area man who was convicted of murder based on DNA.

The issue is whether Johnny Ray Kennedy's rights were violated when a judge refused to appoint an expert at public expense who could help the defense.

DNA was critical to the case, especially because Kennedy was charged with murder 20 years after the crime. Prosecutors had two experts who could talk to jurors about DNA but Kennedy had none at the 2014 trial.

A Michigan agency is seeking public comment on a recommendation creating uniform standards for public defenders in the state.

The 15-member Michigan Indigent Defense Commission created the proposal. The standards include better education and training for attorneys and mandatory interviews with defendants, along with other practices that improve legal service.

Commission Chair James Fisher says that these recommendations are necessary to improve a Michigan public defense system that, in his eyes, is failing and inconsistent in too many areas.

Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation Monday that will make sweeping changes to the state’s public defense system.

Snyder says the new law is a big step toward making sure fewer indigent criminal defendants are wrongfully convicted. It will create a commission to set statewide standards for public defense. The group will also monitor counties to make sure each one is meeting those standards.

The governor says there’s still a lot of work to do before the state can expect to see improvements. He said, “It will take some time to implement this. But this is something we will be very diligent about the follow-through to make sure it happens right.”

The bills passed the state House and Senate last month with bi-partisan support.